Statement
Red Cedar is always teaching me ways to work with it. My designs are based on simplicity and function,with inspiration that comes from the natural beauty of the trees. The wood I salvage will show me what it wants to be - the back of a bench, the curved cap of a sign or the taper and twist of a sculpture. The artifacts I create fit naturally into their surroundings, reflecting the relationship between the cedar trees and the coastal environment. I like to leave an element of the silver beach weathered exterior to contrast the smooth, sanded, naturally varied colours of the revealed cedar wood. The process of hand splitting the cedar retains the natural curves and movement in the grain, making each piece unique.
Biography
Colin grew up on the islands, and has always felt a strong connection to the coastal environment. He first learned to split cedar on the beach over twenty years ago, and has been hooked ever since. It became a passion that evolved into a lifestyle. Searching for a creative outlet with sustainability in mind Colin set out to create a business splitting cedar driftwood. At first he used the salvaged wood for making fences, arbours, garden and driveway gates, but soon ventured into building furniture and signs using traditional mortise and tenon joinery. Colin then began hand carving sculptures as well as designs into his furniture and signs. With the idea of ‘functional art’ he started Thuja Wood Art eighteen years ago on Pender Island where he lives in a passive solar strawbale home he built with his family. Colin can be found most days in his cob studio not twenty feet from his house beside the pond. His work has been on display at art shows and galleries around the Southern Gulf Islands.
